The Penn State head coaching search may be over. The ball is in James Franklin's court.

The Vanderbilt coach was offered the position during a long meeting with the Nittany Lions' search committee in Destin, Fla. Wednesday night, sources tell the Scranton Times Tribune .

Vanderbilt coach James Franklin (AP Photo)

Franklin, who was the leading candidate to replace Bill O’Brien at Penn State, is expected to accept or decline the offer Thursday, according to the report.

The 41-year-old Franklin, who has guided the Commodores to back-to-back nine-win seasons, has helped make Vanderbilt competitive in the SEC after decades of futility for the program. The Commodores are 24-15 under him in three seasons.

Franklin was born and raised in Pennsylvania, playing collegiately at East Stroudsburg University. He even began his coaching career in the state.

Interestingly, Franklin’s two coordinators, John Donovan (offense) and Bob Shoop (defense) have picked up new Twitter followers in the form of Penn State recruits, CoachingSearch.com notes , signaling that there may be change afoot in State College.

Penn State needs a coach after O’Brien left for the NFL to assume head coaching duties of the Houston Texans. The Nittany Lions will be entering the third year of a four-year bowl ban in 2014-15.